By Georgia Kelly
Sam Keen was my friend, sometimes a mentor, sometimes a big brother, but always one of my most treasured friends. I met Sam about 50 years ago when I was living in Big Sur and he was a frequent workshop leader at Esalen Institute. He was dating a close friend of mine so I saw him fairly regularly. My former husband and I often spent time with them in Big Sur and Muir Beach where they lived. But, it wasn’t until I moved to Sonoma in 1997 that I really got to know Sam.
My fondest memories of Sam will always be our afternoon teas. Our conversations would span a spectrum of subjects but usually revolved around politics, philosophy, literature, theology, and books we were reading, We both preferred tea over coffee and believed that the ritual of afternoon tea was the ideal space for deep conversation. We also both loved birds and kept copious supplies of bird seed and peanuts o hand. Once when I visited for tea, Sam gave me a handful of bird seed and motioned for me to come outside. As we approached the bird feeder, a plethora of small birds started flying all around us before landing on our shoulders and arms. It was thrilling. They had no fear of us and preferred to get the seeds directly from our hands. His book, “Sightings: Extraordinary Encounters with Ordinary Birds” was about his love and appreciation for the wonder and beauty of the many species of our feathered friends.
Sam’s book, “Faces of the Enemy,” has been the go-to book for Praxis Peace Institute programs on war and peace. His understanding of propaganda and how people are manipulated by stories and images was second to none. He has one of the largest collections of propaganda posters in the country and his book is filled with some of these horrific images. Our discussions often focused on war, the failure to learn the lessons of history, or the reasons why heroes or cult leaders have so little trouble finding devoted followers. What motivated the true believer? Why did some people question the beliefs they were taught and others did not?
Sam used to say that from the moment we are born, someone is shoving software into our minds. It was up to each of us to question the veracity of this software. Sam’s life work was about posing the questions that matter. Finding solutions, he believed, are not possible if one if not asking the right questions. He had a framed picture of a Question mark in his office, a constant reminder of the need to keep seeking and to question all sources. Having PhD degrees in both philosophy and theology, his inquiring mind was always busy and his insights reflected a dogged pursuit of knowledge. Sam was never finished with learning and never finished with questioning.
In 2008, when I was organizing the conference Praxis would produce in Sonoma in 2009, I asked Sam to be a speaker. The theme was “The Economics of Peace.” Not being an economist, he was somewhat reluctant to take this on, but I told him he was to give us the philosophical side of economics, the values and ethics of a just economic model. After the conference in October 2009, he told me he had spent a year putting the ideas together for that speech. Needless to say, it was brilliant and I was so glad that I persevered in enlisting him for that task. One of the books he studied in preparation was “The Worldly Philosophers” by Robert Heilbroner. On his recommendation, I read it so we could talk about it. Reading and discussing that book with Sam was akin to a graduate course in economic philosophy. Being Sam’s friend meant learning all the time.
Sam was very comfortable with uncertainty, which seems very compatible with an inquisitive mind. We talked about that a lot Why did everything need an explanation or an answer. Wonder was a divine attribute. In fact, he wrote a book about it, “Apology for Wonder.” Sam was a thinker and also a person who marveled at the beauty of the world and all life in it.
Then there was a time when Sam played the role of my big brother. In 1999, we were both in attendance at the State of the World Forum in San Francisco. I was there to play the harp for the opening banquet, which earned my entrance to the multi-day event. Sam was a speaker. One afternoon, he insisted that I attend a planning meeting because as I recalled someone had cancelled and there was about to be a reshuffle. I was happy to be there and observe the inner workings of conference planning but was shocked when Sam suggested that I should be the moderator for one of the panels scheduled that evening. Well-known luminaries were set to be on that panel. I was the harpist. What was Sam thinking? Really, what was Sam thinking? Later, he admitted why he did it. First, he believed I was up for it even when I wouldn’t have even considered it myself; and, second, he was convinced that I would challenge the usual rhetoric of the panel members. He wanted to shake things ups. I did exactly what he expected and my next career (Praxis Peace Institute) was probably seeded that night.
Sam was an advisory board member of Praxis Peace Institute before we incorporated in 2001 and remained on the board all these years later. His advice was invaluable when discussing conference topics or planning a program. I will miss Sam deeply. He has been a part of my life for most of my life. I’m sure that I will think about him often when I have afternoon tea, especially if it includes oatmeal cookies, which were his favorite.
In the last third of Sam’s life, he was blessed with finding a relationship that truly fulfilled him. Sam softened when he married Patricia de Jong. The side of him that liked to shock audiences and get them riled up, had dissolved (yes, there was that side of him, as many people can attest).
Sam lived well and loved well, a truly remarkable man that had a giant impact on the lives of many people. I am forever grateful to have known Sam and to have been his friend for so many years. There were tears in my afternoon tea the day I got the news of his passing. He will not be forgotten.
May Sam’s spirit rest in bliss.
Praxis Peace Institute will host a free discussion on zoom on April 4th to honor Sam Keen and Ofer Zur (who passed away in February). They were friends and often spoke at events together. The topic: “Propaganda and the Faces of the Enemy.” To get the zoom link, email: georgia@praxispeace.org
This free program will be repeated live on Tuesday, May 6th at 5:30 at Aqus Café in Petaluma.
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